Spray ball construction



p 1961 I D. R. HOLDREN SPRAY BALL CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sh ee't 1 Filed Jan. 15, 1958 INVENTOR. Dona Id Holdren.

BY nth W g ArroR/vg s Sept. 26, 1961 Filed Jan. 15, 1958 D. R. HQLDREN SPRAY BALL CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Donatd Holdren.

ATTOENEKS United States Patent ice 3,001,533 SPRAY BALL CONSTRUCTION Donald R. Holdren, West Liberty, Ohio,{assignor to Holdren Brothers, Inc., West Liberty, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Jan. 15, 1958, Ser. No. 709,159 3 Claims. (Cl. 134-166) The present invention relates to a cleaner for the finterior of storage or processing tanks, tank trucks, tank cars and the like, and more particularly to a spray type cleaner for cleaning an area completely surrounding the same.

The present invention includes a hollow ball, suitably carried within a tank and having the interior connected with a source of cleansing fluid under pressure. The ball is provided with a plurality of perforations or holes, forming jets for spraying the ceiling and the upper parts of the side walls of the tank.

Inasmuch as the ball must be connected with a tube for supplying fluid to the interior thereof, and inasmuch as the radially extending outlets from the ball cannot be provided at the inlet to the ball, the areas immediately surrounding the inlet to the ball are provided with out let perforations so designed as to direct the fluid to the section of the wall immediately surrounding the inlet tube.

Further objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a tank showing the improved cleaner therein;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the cleaner ball and the tube leading thereto, the upper part of the coupling for the tube being shown partly in section;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the cleaning ball, the inlet tube being removed;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the ball; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary View of an insulated tank with my improved cleaner therein.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, the tank is indicated at 20, three of the side walls being shown at 22, 24 and 26; the bottom wall is shown at 28, and the top wall at 30. The cleaner assembly 32 includes a ball 34 and an inlet tube 36 for the interior of the ball. A threaded coupling 38 is suitably connected in sealing relation with the top of the tank 30 by a nut 40.

The ball 34, as is more clearly shown in FIG. 4, is hollow and comprises a lower semi-spherical section 42 and an upper section 44 which is partly semi-spherical in shape, it being distorted near the upper part for the purpose hereinafter described. Section 42 is formed with an upwardly extending lip 46, and section 44 is provided with a downwardly extending lip 48. These lips are in complementing relationship and are sealingly held in such relationship by a clip 50. This clip 50 is substantially semi-circular and is provided with ends 52 which are pivotally mounted in openings 54 in the ball section 44. The clip 50 extends around the bottom of ball section 42, and, when in vertical positon, clamps lip 46 in sealing re lationship with lip 48.

Ball section 44 is provided with a neck 56 which is suitably secured to the tube 36 as at 58, for example, by butt welding.

The lower section 42 and the lower part of the upper section 44 of the ball 34 are impervious; the upper section 44 is provided with a plurality of perforations 60; those perforations in the lower three rows in the upper section 44 extend radially.

It is highly desirable to thoroughly cover the entire sur- 3,001,533; Patented Sept. 26, 19 61 face of the ceiling and upper side walls with the spray of cleaning fluid; such fluid, when so sprayed, will flow down the side walls and over the floor to clean these walls and fioor. Inasmuch as the neck 56 and tube cover a large. area of the top ofthe ball and therefore cannot include jets or openings, other means must be adopted to spray the ceiling immediately about the tube 36 and particularly above the irregular. coupling. To this end, I distort the upper part of section 44 so as to provide the correct angle of wall surface whereby holes drilled therethrough, at right angles to the surface, will direct the spray to where it is desired, namely substantially parallel ly of the tube 36. One form of distortion from spherical is by providing a substantially horizontal and flat ring portion immediately surrounding the neck 58, and the holes 64 therein extend vertically.

The so spacing of holes 64, without rearranging the aim of the next adjacent lower circle of holes from radial distribution, would rob the circular area surrounding the area sprayed through holes 64, of the required cleansiug spray. Therefore, the portion 66 immediately surfurther equalize the spray, i.e., provide for the proper distribution for the area immediately surrounding the area sprayed through holes 68, the portion 70 immediately surrounding the portion 66 is also flat, but is disposed at an angle of substantially 18 degrees from the portion 66 and substantially 36 degrees from the portion 62. The holes 72 in the portion 70 are 'at right angles to the surface of said portion 70. By so arranging the holes 60, 64, 68 and 72, substantially equal distribution is effected onto the ceiling and the upper parts of the side walls including the area immediately surrounding tube 36. The dash lines 74 in FIG. 1 merely indicate the main streams, it being understood that some of the fluid will be directed between the dash lines and onto the ceiling and walls. Thus although a large portion of the ball. 34 lacks a distributing area because of the inlet tube 36, nevertheless by positioning the holes 60, 64, 68 and 72 as herein shown, the entire upper part of the tank including the portion immediately surrounding the tube 36 is subjected to jets of cleansing fluid.

An example of relative sizes and number of jets is as follows: In a ball having approximately -4 inch horizontal diameter, four equally spaced holes 64 are provided; ten equally spaced holes 68 are provided; fifteen equally spaced holes 72 are provided. The row of holes immediately below the portion 70 includes twenty equally spaced holes; the next row below includes twenty-five equally spaced holes; the lowermost row of holes in the section 44 contains thirty equally spaced holes. A 4 drill is employed for all of the holes.

The interior as well as the exterior of the ball is polished, before welding, to a number 4 finish. Preferably the ball and the tube are formed of stainless steel.

I have shown the ball 34 in an insulated type of tank in FIG. 5. Here the inner walls, illustrated by the top wall 30, are surrounded by outer walls, one of which is shown at 76, there being air or other insulating materal sealed between the inner and outer walls of the tank. Here tube 36 and ball 34 are suitably suspended by a fitting, the lower port of which is shown at 78. Aligned holes are cut through walls 76 and 30 for receiving a tube 80. The lower end of tube is sealed with and secured to inner wall 30 by welding 82, and the lower part of fitting 78 is sealed with and secured to upper wall 76 by welding 84. Tube 80 is sealingly secured to fitting 78. By the present invention cleansing spray can be conducted into the tube 80 and over the welding 82.

While the form of embodiment herein shown and described constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms may be adopted falling within the scope of the claims that follow.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for cleaning the interior of a tank comprising a hollow spray head ball formed of thin Walled sections; means joining said sections together at a junction; supporting means for mounting the spray head ball within the tank and spaced from the interior wallsof the tank, said means including an inlet tube for supplyingcleansing fluid to the interior of the spray head head ball including an annular top wall portion provided with a plurality of perforations, at least a portion of said top Wall portion being substantially normal to said longitudinal axis whereby said perforations direct jets of cleansing fluid in directions substantially parallel with said inlet tube; said spray head ball also including an upper wall portion provided with a second plurality of m perforations, said upper wall portion being extended outwardly and downwardly from said top wall portion whereby said second plurality of perforations direct jets of cleansing fluid upwardly'and outwardly at inclined angles, and said spray head ball includinga lower wall A. v 4 r the spray head ball impinges on the upper regions of the tank 3. An apparatus for cleaning the interior of a tank comprising, in combination, a cleansing fluid inlet tube for extension through the wall of a tank, said tube including a longitudinal axis; and a thin walled hollow spray head ball including an annular topwall portion.

provided Witha plurality of perforations, the planes of tangency to said top wall portion at said perforations portion substantially free of perforations whereby at least most of the cleansing fluid from the upper portion of being substantially normal to said longitudinal axis whereby said perforations direct jets of cleansing fluid in directions substantially parallel with said inlet tube; said spray head ball also including an upper wall portion with a second plurality of perforations, said upper wall portionbeing extended outwardly and downwardly from said top wall portion whereby said second plurality of perforations direct jets of cleansing fluid upwardly and outwardly at inclined angles, and said spray head ball ineluding a lower wall portion substantially free of perforations whereby at least most of the cleansing fluid from the upper portion of the spray head ball impinges on the 1 upper regions of the tank.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 822,546 Newman June 5, 1906 909,654 Oliver Jan. 12, 1909 1,313,582 Cowan Aug. 19, 1919 1,444,889 Sladden Feb. 13, 1923 1,749,312 Blair Mar, 4, 1 930,; 1,799,525 Morgan Apr. 7', 1931 2,213,627 De Baugh Sept. 3, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS 177,517 Germany Nov. 1, 1906 I a s-thy, 

